The album was released on September 5 this year. The first single, ‘Cantaloupe’, was unveiled in July of the previous year, but the album wasn’t completed at that time, an unprecedented situation for musician and composer Francisca Cortesão, who is at the core of the band.
“I had never done this before, releasing a song that would be part of an album while still not knowing what the album would be like,” she stated in an interview.
By July last year, four songs had been recorded, but ‘Cantaloupe’ was the only one fully ready for release.
“When we released the first song, some songs hadn’t been written yet, others were very different from how they ended up. I really didn’t know what would come out. I trusted that something would come out and that I would like it, but I didn’t know what it was,” she recalled.
After releasing the other three songs, the band members returned to the studio to record four more.
“And in the meantime, there were many additions and changes, even the guests [the singers Shelley Short and Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station)] appeared during this process.
Although not a conceptual album, there is a common identity in the eight songs of ‘STRETCH’, “for better or worse”, consisting of the songs written by Francisca Cortesão and the arrangements by all group members.
“There are the songs I write, and at the end, when the collection is closed, we find some common things,” she said, noting there are “many songs about traveling and where the mind goes when on a journey or walking.”
However, it wasn’t just the creation and recording process of the album that stretched over time.
The band itself expanded, with the inclusion of Afonso Cabral, who has been performing live with Minta & The Brook Trout since the concerts promoting their previous album, ‘Demolition Derby’, released in 2021, but participated in the album recordings for the first time.
Currently, Minta & The Brook Trout also include Mariana Ricardo, Margarida Campelo, and Tomás Sousa.
All the lyrics of the group’s songs are penned by Francisca Cortesão, but the music involves all members, and in the case of ‘STRETCH’, also the guests.
“Shelley Short and Tamara Lindeman took the melodies I had for the songs and each added their touch, especially Weather Station. Things start with me, but then they grow a lot and become very different from what I could imagine if they were only mine,” said Francisca Cortesão.
American singer Shelley Short sings on ‘Please Make Room For Me Please’, a song not initially written with her in mind, but which Francisca Cortesão felt suited her voice. “I invited her, and she immediately agreed. She lives in Australia and recorded there, and when she comes to Europe, we plan to do something,” she recounted.
The recording with Canadian Tamara Lindeman took place in Lisbon.
“I emailed her inviting her to sing on a song, and when she replied, she insisted it had to be done in person. I looked at two songs we had recorded and thought her voice would fit well. She recorded two, and her voice ended up on one of them [‘Born to be mild’]. The song made a huge leap with her contribution,” she said.
During a European tour promoting The Weather Station’s album, Tamara Lindeman visited the Louva-a-deus studio, founded by Francisca Cortesão and Afonso Cabral, which is also the label releasing ‘STRETCH’.
The launch concert for the new album by Minta & The Brook Trout is scheduled for 21:00 today at B.Leza.
Francisca Cortesão, born in Porto in 1983, was part of the band Casino before going solo as Minta, releasing the EP ‘You’ in 2008. She has been part of bands led by David Fonseca, Bruno Pernadas, and Lena D’Água, and currently divides her time between Minta & The Brook Trout, Mão Verde, They’re Heading West, and Mais Alto.
Additionally, she writes for other singers, including Cristina Branco and Ana Bacalhau, and also does book and film translations.
